Midwest Review

Poetry readers seeking poems connecting human understanding and emotion to the earth will find Berth a study in transformative experience and perception. Its links between the two use evocative free verse imagery to cement observations that are striking in nature: "Water spills from canyon’s crevice/snow spitting her first freeze in October/an early shower of silver cells."

From back country coyotes to volcanic landscapes seemingly barren but teaming with life, Megan Stratford displays a powerful voice that captures these visions of nature and her place within this backdrop: "Any moment now the dark/will divide the firs in two/sun setting her flame in the riffles/where the water plies and swashes into bedrock."

Seasonal observations are just as deep-seated in nature as Stratford's sense of place, as in the poem "Summer:" "new life unfolds on the bodies of cacti/while the sun’s/orange-red heat crawls alongside the wild’s floor."

As the collection evolves, the focus moves from a nature-centric observational piece to a human-centric heart driven by emotion and considerations of cities, angels, and a different sense of place and purpose.

Line drawings accompany these works to bring their descriptions to visual life, but it's the power of the pen that moves these pieces, creating a collection highly recommended for libraries looking for contemporary poetry firmly rooted in a sense of nature and connection.

Ideally, the collection will also appeal to non-poetry readers interested in literary descriptions of the natural world. This audience will find a special flavor to the word paintings offered in Berth that dance on tongue and mind.